Sawyer&#39;s indicator for sawmill log carriages



Sept. l1, 1928. 1,683,909

F. C. MAVIS ET AL SAWYERS IINDICATOR FOR SAWMILL LOG CARRIAGES Filed Aug. 19, 192e sheets-sheep 1 a? After/7 e525.

sept. 11, 1928.

F. c. MAvls E1' A1.

SAWYERS INDICATOR FOR SAWIIILL LOG CARRIAGES Filed Aug. 19, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 11;` 1928. l

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Appelation leangust 19, 15625 fielfbflf Y @ne inyentloh eletee Y to je'ew hulls, end

nas for its objeetggene'ally, 'the p'oduelion of ein ideot-b'Wh-ih Will zleorly 21nd unniiietehebly indleate 'io e heeel Sawyer oecopying his 'epeietlyeecetoh not only the thiekneee of the out fromvthe' log whieh `the log eeir'iege ie 'eet 'for the suivre make, but

eleo, what moge impeitent, the ehieknese ofeheeleg' whieh remeinehheutfle being peet of the eetten sine rugseh in dependes inl legje .the quality of thefoutpu't of the. nll and be-us'e the Valfiation 'Of even: e einen 'freetionof en inch ihv the see ting of the loffmay iesultin lees 'wheh'may' beeeiioue he eense 'from whieh'euehloss results primrily le, of 'course5 e mistake mede by the Setter theeetelhg of thelog,

#e but. offener' it oeeure the; egreeteeless re'- Seite fierh the tiefnp'tofjtheeetter to cover up his mie'tk'e by dividing illeglose from an oveieut by apportiennhene` of lb among subsequent eut-tinge' f'o' the S'aI-l log, with uien-lents yGut of true:v Y

The consequence.. 1n eithee' of seid instances, ie to produce e yaiotion of. out Wleh when it le discovered as ltinustjbe 40 eventually,y mustY resul-tin 'rejeetion erY a v-de-'vl gfading, of 'e loss, not only of the lfirst; Aboei-'cl or piece severed from the logr but also ,of all boards or pieces subsequent tothe firsterror/ For exemple., if. the log is set to' eut a series oi boards of one inch thkness, variation of al siuzill fraction 'in 1the athiokn'ess of af boei-id will diequelfy it for passage through a' planeo, for instance5 with'loss to the-mill,

and any tte'inpt to @over up"tl1e kfitjoh of preeeilng cut Will diequlify eah lb' eequene eue, with proportionate inei'eese ofA has been exehieiyely by en-exeheiige ofl ehe lbleslgnals, usually manual, and is fzufoiil eetiefeeeef-y: .Evjeh eheh means of eem mlniieetio'h een convey ne infoirneitionl to the Sawyer' tlmt the eett-el-e wol-k is properly done,-j and :espeeially ho information 'of the setteris subsequent eltiempo to eenoeal vhis error :if mede.- Ihlhe' employment i ef seid method iti was only: inthe yfinal measurementlof the( lumbithtfthe eoleo'uld be eleteeteol d Y By our invention, a Sawyer has eonst'nhly presented torhi's eye'by en accurate mechaneulinstrument, n indiation which cion- Sheet-ee e tellmleer eheek Jehe-werk; of

the yeetter ih. setting ofen-eleg eariage;

before he eetshie emrifageih mot-ion'.

yOur .indieeto 'should afford @leoni-ate means which will enable theffwyrl ilo# seco a settel-e .mi'strlkeat a' gloee.y Its in:

whieh the 'Sawyer nayreet-lfy,"if1need be,

dieation ie therefore pr'efefbly iii'egnied5 in .effeeuns through'the employment of o register offroetionel peres of eeuu without materialncrease ofthe" dimensions of Ehe ndeato'rproper. f v i f YWhat constitutes? ouri 'inyehtiofi `will be hereinafter speeiedlin detail; abelY eueeinebly defined in tliejappendedeloinfsg;

i In; 'the aompanyiigf drawings, "wherein our` invention is' illustrated pl'eoeht pe- 1 Figure II is a View smila'r yco Figul' but taken at rghtfngles 'tliebm 'land showo v ings, V1 enel' 2 indieetev the 'eide ifhe'pioe, and 3 indioatee one' ofthe eroes'piees' of en ordinary flog. V"em-elefge, 'which is supported;-

fm1-exemple; eeueuel/on wheels 4., whiehyifi vllount'ebl tfiehsv'eeel'y upon the eide' fmhe pie-eee 1 and 2 of the log @armee-,fis 'fixed the 'heeel complement of bed whiehthe h'ed or foemosb one isl shown in the dreefihge. Eeeh bed plete ey is ehehnelled Vlongtuolinfilly"*for the accommodation plates e, of yj of oppositely disposed strips 111 and 15,

serves to hold the knee portion 8 firmly but slidably upon the bed plate 6, the said strips being bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the bed lively.

Each knee 9, being, as by means just speci- `tied, for example, mounted on its bed plate, is provided with an upright 16, a plurality of knees being provided for each carriage.

The full complement of knees is subjected,

plate on its opposite sides, respecbysuitable mechanism for the purpose that is common in the art and, therefore, needs no illustration or description,- to manipulative control from one point, at the will of the setter. n

. A log 18, made ready to be sawed by being first subjected vto the usual slabbing operation, is laid lengthwise upon the bed plates, and vis snugly set against t-healigned `series of knee uprights 16, by whose synchronous movement in unison it may be advanced step yby step towards the saw 19, shown as circular in Figure II. The extent of movementof the knees in each setting of them determines, by the transverse movementl they im part to the log, the thickness of the board orpiece which the saw will cut from the lon gitudinally oncoming log. .l

The setting of the log for each cut fixes a line of departurefrom which the capacity of the remaining portion of the log to be sawed may be measured with practical precision.

VOur invention is designedand adapted toenable a sawyer to determine in one and the same observation the two important items of information referred to in the last two sentences, butl especially the latter, and thereby..

to regulateto material economical advan` tage, as above explained, the doing of his not only afford substantially exact advance information of the thickness of the piece that is severed from the log, but also, especially, of the thickness of the uncut portion of the log, thereafter remaining.

Y In thezspecific form of embodiment of our invention illustrated, 20 designates an indicator case which may be of any preferred shape and dimensions, and which is, at the commencement kof each'cut, located in yfixed position at any convenient point within reach .of the clear vision of thesawyer when he is a loose liub- 2G that is coaxial and' interior` to a pulley rim 27, which projects rear-` wardlyfrom a coaxial dial plate 28, whose face is provided with a peripheral annular` Zone 80. Said Zone is inscribed with aseries of regular graduations indicatedby radially disposed lines 31..` The number of graduations 3l indicates in terms ofvr units ofi measurement, say inches, the distance of the entire travel ofthe kneesupon their respective bed plates 6.

i As illustrated, for example, the number of the vgraduationsl is sixty, which means that the full log capacity of thelog carriage to -which itis appropriate issixtyinches.v Consequently ,the graduations of the Zone 30 are adapted to register ininclies every adjustnient applicdto logs of sixty inch maximum thickness or to any .thickness of log less than lim `sixty inches,`but the capacity ofthe log carria'ge and consequently of the indicator mayV be, of course, variedat pleasure. j lThe pulley rim 27 is in operative CoinmunicationA with the head knee 9, preferably through theiiistiumentality of a iiexiblemember or substantially non-extensible rope 33. One end of the said rope isy fastened, as indicated at 34, tothe rim 27 about which, fiom the point 311, it makes substantially one complete turn, terminating in a verticai stretch 35 that drops tangentially from the point, V34, approximately. The stretchv 35 ofthe rope Sis bent at its lower portion about a .guide pulley 37revolubly mounted in a support 38 that is fixed to the log carriage, as on the beam 21.V Beyond the pulley 37, theenid l0 lof a taut horizontal stretch of the rope 33 .is adjustably secured, as by an eye-bolt a1, to a stud42 which projects from the adjacent side ofthe head knee 9, preferably from` the yhorizontal portion 8 thereof. `The function of therrope 88 is to impartito the pulley rim 27, with lili its attached dial plate 28, rotative movement proportionate tothe horizontal movement,

in one direction, of Ll Lne knee 9, until such` time as thelimit of its movement is reached.

The pulley rim 27 also carries, in likeV less the length of the diameter thereof,` be

at the least equal to say six feet or more, a

length which is prohibitively great on ac-v count of the space it would occupy in a mill.

Y For registering legibly very small fractions `circular or disk shaped plate.

ous, for instance, that the dial plate 28 and the dial lmight be made stationary Y l,

' 1l. A sawyers indicator for saw mill log the length of the diameter *must be greater.

. l/Vhile we have heretofore considered thev dial 5l' as making a single-revolution, it is proper to observe that the said di'al is notl restricted in' respect to the number of revolutions it imay make in any single log-setting operation. It is obvious that, if the dial 51 makes one revolution for each inch kof log-set, it will make -two revolutions for two inches of log-set, and so on.V Also a fraction of an inch of log-set will be regis-` tered both'on the zone 80 as well as on the `dial 51,"its-registry on the dialbeiiig, in

board cut is indicated by the pointer 50,v but it-will be observed that the thickness of the board is legibly indicated with accuracy tothe saywer by the dial 5l. Consequently, comparison of the indications .on both dials will Vshow the sawyer at'a glance both thel thickness of the cut and of the boardlast cut or being cut therefrom. v

It should be `furthermore lobserved that we use the term dial7 and dial plate herein in the broad sense of any plate between which and pointer oriiideii relative inotion occurs, and without restriction to a It is obviand that motion relative thereto might be imparted tothe pointers() and 63, respectively; but `while we regard such a variation as a potential modification ofo'ur invention, we deem the form of embodiment of our invention hereink described to be obviously the preferable form. n

Moreover, the direction of movement of the said dial or dial plate-with reference to the said pointers, or contrariwise, is considered immaterial, and thatreciprocatoryl or partial rotation maybe substituted for the rotary y motion which we describe and respectcto the' prefer `at present Ito employ in elements indicated;

The operation of oui" .device has been,

part, described in the foregoingspecification,

and will, itis believed,be rendered complete by the following summary ofthe resultof said operation. v Y c Let it be assumed-that the dialjplate 28 and the dial 5l occupy the relative positions Iin which theyare illustrated `iii-Figure l.

Those positions indicate that. the thickness of the log on the log carriage isexactly sixtyinches. Consequently, the pointer 50registers exactly with the properline 31 on the4 .Zone 30,and the pointer 63 is inexact alignnient with the initial line of fractional indication on the Adial 5l.

lf, now, for example, thesawyer signals the setter to set the-log for the cut of aone. l

inch'board, and the setter makes a set which registers exactly 59 onvthe dial plate 28 and registers no fraction on the dial 51, the saw-` I' ver is informed thereby that the setterfhas committed the error of failing to ymake al-Y lowance for the kerf of the saw. He, therefore, holds tho loperation of the `saw in abeyance untilhey shall have signalled the setterf that error has been made in thelog-set, and

enabled him to correct it. `It will appear upon consideration of the foregoing that by:L

the aid of our invention, thechance of error in log-setting may be reduced in practice substantially to nil. It sliould'be observed, in respect vto our indicator, that its operative connection is made directly with the knee itself of the log carriage, and registers the movement thereof independently of any mechanism bywhich the carriage is actuated. VThisis an impor-` tant feature, because it often happens Yin practice that the carriage setting mechanism 'gets out of 'order without the knowledge of fl M thesetter. Our indicator, in such case, operatesfas a telltale to the sawyer, and, if. upon his communication tothe-setter that the indicator shows an improper registrythe setter upon trial findsvthat the error is not of! his making, the evidence that the fault is in the cairiagesetting mechanism is complete,

thereby localizing and facilitating correction of the trouble. j

What we claim is:

to tlievdialplate, a movable bedl plate knee mounted on the carriage and means operatively connecting the knee to saidv dial forv prdetermined point.

'2. In a Sawyer 'A carriages, the combination with an indiregistering movement of `the. kneel from a cator case, a rotary dial plate thereon, and

a pointerr on said case, of a pulley rim on the dial plate, and flexible members secured atr` one end, respectively, to the pulle)T rim and winding upon it in opposite .directi'ons,

s indicatorfor saw mill vlog,`

means for gravitationally actuating one of said members, and means operatively connecting the member to the knee of a bed plate of a saw mill carriage.v

3. In a savvyers indicator' for savv mill log carriages, the combination vvith an indicator case, a rotary dial plate thereon, and pointers on said case, of a pulley rim on the dial plate, flexible members secured at one end, respectively, to the pulley rim and Winding upon it in opposite directions, means for gravita# tionally actuating one of said members, and means operatively connecting the other member to the knee of a bed plate of a saW mill carriage, a fraction-indicating dial revolubly mounted on the Vindicator case, and a train of gears operatively connecting said dial and dial plate, respectively.

4. In a saivyers indicator for savv mill log carriages, the combination With an indicator case, a rotary dial plate thereon, and pointers on the case, of a pulley rim on the dial plate, flexible membersl secured at one end, respectively, tothe pulley rim and Winding upon it in opposite directions, and means for gravitationally actuating one of said members, and means operatively connecting the other member to the knee of a bed plate of a saw mill carriage, a fraction-in-r icating magnifying dial revolubly mounted on the indicator case, and atrain of gears operatively connecting said dial Vand dialV plate, respectively. v

5. In a savvyers indicator for saw mill log carriages, the combination With an indicator case, a rotary dial plate thereon, and pointers on said case, of a pulley rim' on the dial plate, ieXible members'secured at one end, respectively, to the pulley rim and Winding upon it in opposite directions, means for gravitationally actuating one of saidA members, and means operatively connecting the other member to the knee of a bed plate of a savv mill carriage, a fraction-indicating dial revolubly mounted on the indicatorcase, and a train of gearseoperatively connecting said dial and dial plate, respectively, said pointers being disposed at'right angles to each other, Where the indication of each pointer is made clearly legible and Without tendency to vconfuse the mind in the reading of them.

6. The combination With a log carriage having a part movable relative thereto, vair riage having a part movable relative thereto,

an indicator, and means operatively connecting the movable part with the indicatorto automatically register the displacement of the movable part from a predetermined position and the thickness of a log on the carriage. r 8. The combination with a movable log carriage, an indicator, and means operatively connecting saidy indicator to said movable log carriage to Vregister the longitudinal displacement of the movable log carriage from a predetermined position and the thickness oiian article associated With the, movable log centric smaller dial for registering fractional parts of the main dial.

l1. The combination with a saw mill'carriage having a part movable relative thereto,

an indicator dial, and means operatively connecting the movable part With the indicatorr dial to register the thickness of an article on the carriage, saidindicator dial being legible at a distance of many feet from the carriage.

12. The combination with la saw mill carriage having a part movable relative thereto, an indicator for registering the displace- Ament of the movablepart from a predeter-L mined position, said indicator comprising concentrically disposed dials, one of said dials arranged to register accurately the thickness ofeach board ory cut from' the log and the other'the approximate thickness of the log. y Y Y 13. The' combination With a saw mill car- Vriage havinga part movable relative thereto, an indicator for registering the displace-v ment of the-movable part from a predetermined position, said indicatorcomprising an inner member and an outer member, one of said members arranged to registerl accurately the thickness of each board or cut `from the log andthe other member the approximate thickness of the log. c

In testimony whereof, We have hereunto set our hands.

FIRN c. Mavis'. GUY B. SAMPAIR.

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